


3 Times Max Isn't Magnus's Son and 1 Time He Is

by heartsdesire456



Series: Max Two 'Verse [4]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Alternate Canon, Family Feels, Fluff, M/M, Only it's actually just 3+1, Parenthood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-01
Updated: 2016-07-01
Packaged: 2018-07-19 12:13:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7361113
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heartsdesire456/pseuds/heartsdesire456
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>3 times people assume Magnus is Max's dad and 1 time Max tells somebody Magnus is his papa.</p>
            </blockquote>





	3 Times Max Isn't Magnus's Son and 1 Time He Is

**Author's Note:**

> You may have seen this announced on tumblr, but if not, SURPRISE!!!

1.

In the three years that Alec had been in a relationship with Magnus, a lot of things had changed. The Clave had ruled to leave the Institute in Robert and Maryse’s direct control until Alec turned twenty-seven to allow him time to prove himself. However, what had actually happened in that time was Alec getting tired of keeping his relationship with Magnus a secret and deciding to come out openly. He and Max also moved in with Magnus in that time which really did not sit well with the Clave. As a result, on Alec’s twenty-seventh birthday, rather than give Alec the Institute, they sent in a young Shadowhunter who had no family to take official control of the Institute rather than the Lightwoods while still allowing them to be the family living and working there. 

However, the guy they sent was a bigger slacker than anyone Alec had ever met before. He didn’t pay much attention to anything for the first few weeks he was there, so everyone kept coming back to Alec for instruction and for help with everything. Some of them even called him at home when he wasn’t working because they trusted him to actually advise them correctly. Alec felt sorry for the new guy, James Thornwood, because he was the least in the know person of all to be the head of the institute. Nobody told him thing that weren’t relevant to missions because they didn’t think he deserved their trust. Even the ones who hadn’t liked Alec’s choices with his life had a better level of respect for him than for James.

Because of that, when Magnus brought Max to see his grandfather while Alec’s parents were visiting the Institute from Idris, James clearly had no idea who they were. Alec was sharpening his broad heads when James walked over to the door of the armory and hummed. “Hey, Alec,” he called, and Alec looked up to see James looking out the door. “Who are the warlocks? The guy and the little kid with your dad.”

Alec perked up. “Oh, Magnus and Max are here?” he asked, putting away his arrows so he could go see them. When he followed James out the door, he was surprised when Max spotted James and frowned.

“Who’s that, Granddad?” he asked Robert, who looked up and spotted James.

“Oh Magnus, Max, this is James Thornwood,” Robert said, introducing the young man. “He’s the head of the institute.”

James held out his hand for a high-five. “Hey, dude. You’re the same color as my eyes,” he said, and Alec, who had known James wasn’t a bad guy, was a little impressed that _that_ was how he greeted a warlock child. He glanced up at Magnus. “Is this your dad?” he asked, and Max shook his head, pointing at Alec.

“He’s my Dad,” he said simply and Alec tensed some, unsure of what James would say. James looked at him in surprise. “Magnus is Dad’s boyfriend.” James’s eyes widened and Alec kept his face blank and his shoulders relaxed without shame. 

James looked at Magnus and Max, and then at Alec. “Oh. OH.” He saw Robert’s worried look and Alec watched James smile quickly. “Dude, I didn’t know you had a kid,” he said, smacking Alec in the arm.

“People tend to not talk about my family,” Alec said simply, holding his hand out to Max, who skipped over and hugged him around the waist. Alec ruffled his hair, careful of his horns that were starting to stick out from his hair. “This is Max, same as my brother,” he said with a small smile as Max looked up at him with big, light blue eyes. “He just turned five, if you can believe it.”

“God knows I can’t,” Magnus said as he held out his hand to James. “Magnus Bane, High Warlock of Brooklyn, and yes, this one’s boyfriend,” he said, smiling at Alec. “Sorry for the surprise visit, Darling, but Robert’s in town so rarely and Blueberry wanted to see his granddad.” 

James nodded. “Nice. Well I won’t keep you. I was just curious about the warlock kid at the Institute,” he said with a polite grin. “Have fun with your granddad and your...” He seemed unsure how to describe Magnus and Max rolled his eyes.

“Dad’s boyfriend,” he said and James nodded. “When are you gonna come home, Dad?” Max asked, walking over to slide his hand into Magnus’s again as he looked back at his father.

“Before your bedtime, I promise,” Alec said and Max looked happy enough with that answer as he let Magnus and Robert lead him away.

 

2.

Magnus held one of Max’s hands while Isabelle held his other hand, allowing him to jump and swing some as they made their way through the park. “I just think we need another cat,” Max said as he skipped along, swinging between them. “Chairman Meow agrees.”

“Uh-huh,” Magnus said with suspicious eyes. “Chairman Meow is spoiled, he would not handle a challenger again. You’re lucky he didn’t try to eat you as a baby because I gave you so much attention.”

Max whined. “Magnuuuuuus. I _know_ he wants a friend! I can talk to cats!” he proclaimed and Magnus heard Isabelle choking on a laugh when the old ladies passing them looked at Max like he was insane. Not that they were wrong, in Magnus’s opinion.

“Dear, you cannot talk to cats. Nobody can talk to cats. Not even you and me,” he said bluntly but not unkindly. “C’mon, ice cream,” he said, pointing to the ice cream stand they were passing. He tugged Max, who in turn tugged Isabelle.

“You and your ice cream,” Isabelle teased as they fell into line. “I think you’re where Max gets it,” she accused and Magnus scoffed.

“Please. He gets that one from your side of the family,” he joked. “Now the love of cats, that’s all me.”

Isabelle grinned at him. “Awwww c’mon, Magnus, don’t you want another cat?”

Magnus chuckled. “Oh Sweetie, I wouldn’t mind it, but a certain someone wears way too much black and is half-ready to murder the one we have already every time he finds him asleep on top of his clean laundry.”

Max looked at Isabelle, leaning into her side. “Dad gets sorta crazy sometimes.”

Before Isabelle could reply, the lady in front of them glanced back and smiled. “You two just have the most adorable little boy,” she said, clearly amused by Max’s antics. “I know it’s weird, but I had to say something. He’s so funny.”

Isabelle and Magnus exchanged a look before they both made faces. “Ew, no way-“

“Not that she’s not a very wonderful woman, but this is his aunt,” Magnus said, cutting off whatever rude reply Isabelle might have.

The lady looked horrified. “Oh my, I’m so sorry! I had no idea you were brother and sister.”

Max laughed, looking up at Isabelle and Magnus. “No way, she’s my dad’s sister. He’s my dad’s boyfriend,” he said, looking at them both. “Ha! Magnus and Aunt Isabelle!” he said, nearly falling over as he giggled.

Isabelle glared at him playfully. “Shut it, you. I’m gorgeous. Your dad just saw him first,” she joked, winking at Magnus.

Max made a face. “Ew. A lot. So gross. It’s not cool.” He looked back at the embarrassed lady. “You see what I’m dealing with here?” he asked with a pretention at his age that was definitely something he got from his father, and the lady ducked her head to hide her smile.

 

3.

Magnus was frustrated to say the least. Max was usually a very well-behaved child, especially for him since he was the one that stayed with him most of the time ever since Alec moved in with him two years ago. He usually wasn’t bad and listened when Magnus explained why what he had done was wrong when he was bad.

But sometimes, Max could be as stubborn as his father.

Currently, Magnus was apparently ‘the worst’ because he wouldn’t let Max stay home _by himself_ while Magnus went to go shop for Isabelle’s birthday present rather than come help him pick her something out. Magnus tried explaining that at five years old he wasn’t exactly ready to stay home with nobody but Chairman Meow, especially since they let him free his magic completely at home, meaning all sorts of accidents could happen. He still had trouble sometimes and it was fine while Magnus was there or at least Alec to calm him down, but he was _five years old_ so he was not staying home alone. And that made him ‘mean’, by Max’s logic.

“I don’t wanna hold your hand,” Max whined, snatching his hand away from Magnus to cross his arms over his chest with an impressive grumpy look.

Magnus let out a slow breath, reminding himself that he actually loved this child more than life itself and didn’t _really_ want to strangle him until his light-skinned glamour turned as blue as his actual skin. “Max, I swear, when your father gets home he is going to hear about your behavior.”

“Dad will agree with me cause I’m right!” Max argued and Magnus gritted his teeth.

“You may be in for quite the surprise, Love,” he mumbled, leading the way up the escalator and into Isabelle’s favorite department store that was the only place that sold the brand of perfume she loved best. Max trudged along beside him grumpily and climbed up onto one of the makeup counter stools and started spinning annoyingly while Magnus looked for the perfume Isabelle liked best. He chose to not stop him because nobody was around and at least if he was spinning on a stool he wasn’t breaking anything that Magnus would have to fix without being seen or risk having to pay for broken things.

The woman behind the counter came up to him with a smile. “Hello, can I help you?” she asked, and Magnus put on a charming smile, leaning forward a bit.

“I was hoping you might could,” he said smoothly. “You see I’m looking for a gift for someone and she absolutely adores this one scent and I don’t see it amongst those in the case,” he said, looking down at the things inside the glass case. He tapped the glass above the pink row of boxes. “It’s this brand, but the scent-“ Magnus stopped speaking immediately when he noticed, in the reflection of the mirror inside the case, that the stool behind him was empty. Magnus spun around fast, looking over only to confirm that the stool Max had been spinning on was empty. “Max!” He spun around, looking over every inch of the store that was visible from his spot, but he didn’t see him. He looked between shoppers and between the shelves and the clothing racks off to his left and yet he didn’t see Max’s little blue hoodie that should stand out bright against the white and dark colors of the store. 

“Sir?” the lady asked and he spun around.

“Did you see a little boy on that stool there?! My son was sitting right behind me,” he said, slipping some in his smooth-bottomed loafers on smooth tile floors as he started to run around the makeup counter in a full circle. “MAX?” he shouted, looking under the displays and everything. The woman had followed him from inside the counter, but when he turned back she shook her head. “MAX LIGHTWOOD!” he shouted, not caring that people were looking at him like he was crazy. He saw a phone beside the register the lady was near and pointed to it. “Can you call someone? Security or something?” he asked quickly. “Please, he’s only five, he’s so small and he’s in a blue jacket and has dark hair,” he pleaded, and he only waited long enough to see her make the call before he rushed away, going back the way they came. Kids loved escalators so he hoped Max maybe wandered over to ride the escalators up and down, but when he got there, there was no sign of a little boy in blue anywhere.

Magnus was starting to panic, looking around frantically, hoping more than anything to just see a glimpse of bright blue amongst the crowd of shoppers. He could track him, but he would have to go all the way home to get something that belonged to him, and he was not leaving the store without Max. He rushed around, looking left and right and under things and even on top of shelves in case Max decided to climb them, and he knocked into people all the time and apologized near-tears as he looked for Max. He couldn’t believe Max had actually wandered off just because he was mad at Magnus. 

It was then that the horrible thought that what if _somebody_ had taken Max away, he hadn’t left to go wander around while Magnus wasn’t looking. Magnus let out a weak cry of horror at the thought and dug his phone out of his jacket pocket, frantically dialing Alec as he rushed back to the makeup counter, just in case Max had come back. 

“Hello?”

“Alec!” Magnus gasped out, fear choking him. “Alec I don’t know what happened, I turned my back for a second! It was just to talk to a salesperson-“

“Max?!” Alec interrupted, and Magnus knew Alec already knew what was wrong.

“He was sitting behind me and then I turned around a minute later and he was just gone!” Magnus managed, voice wavering as he rushed around, hand tugging through his hair frantically. “He was mad at me, so he probably just wandered off, but I don’t know, and I can’t find him, and- and- Alec, I-“

Alec interrupted once more. “Magnus, breathe and tell me where you are and what happened,” he demanded and Magnus let out a whimper, wiping at the corner of his eyes as he relayed the store and what they were doing there. 

“And he was mad at me for making him come and he wouldn’t hold my hand and it was making me crazy and now he’s gone!” Magnus choked out. “Alec, what if he didn’t wander off, what if somebody took him?! Oh God, what if someone figured out what he is and took him and-“

“Sir? Sir, excuse me.” Magnus spun around, only to let out a small shout when he saw a tiny hand holding the hand of the security guard who had interrupted. 

“Max!” he cried, dropping to his knees to tug him into a hug. “Alec, Alec he’s okay. I’ve got him. It’s all okay. Oh Max, I’m so sorry,” Magnus cried, kissing his hair repeatedly. “Oh my baby, please don’t ever scare me again like that, do you hear me?!” he asked, pulling back, holding Max by his little shoulders as he looked him in the eyes. “You scared me to death! Are you okay? Is he okay?” he asked, looking up at the security guard as he stood up. “Alec?” he asked, phone to his ear again.

“So you found him? He’s alright?” Alec asked, sounding relieved, and Magnus let out a soft sound of relief.

“Yes, he seems okay. I’m so sorry for scaring you, but I was really freaking out,” Magnus said and Alec reassured him on his end that it was okay. When Magnus hung up, he turned to the security guard while hugging Max to his hip. “Thank you so much for finding my Max,” he said sincerely.

The security guard smiled and shook his head. “It’s alright. Kids wander off all the time. Your son was never in any real danger.”

“I’m not his son,” Max said in a rude tone. “He’s just my dad’s boyfriend.”

Magnus looked down at Max and felt a lump growing in his throat that he had to fight back down when he looked up at the security guard, who looked at him with eyes full of sympathy, and forced a smile. “Good afternoon, Sir. Thank you for everything,” he said in a quiet tone before he began walking, tugging Max along with him. 

Magnus didn’t really feel like shopping anymore.

 

+1.

When they got home, Alec was waiting and, after he heard about how Max had acted all day and how he had wandered off just because he was mad at Magnus, Alec sent Max to bed early as punishment. Max had complained the whole way, but when Alec threatened to make him stay in his room all day the next day if he didn’t stop complaining and get ready for bed, Max went without further delay.

Because of how early it was, though, Max couldn’t really fall asleep. He lay in bed for the longest time playing with his magic. He made shapes and lights dance around the ceiling for a long time until he slowly started to get tired. He had almost fallen asleep when the heat shut off and he could hear, through the cracked bedroom door, a sound he had never heard before in their house other than when he did it.

Somebody was crying.

Curiosity got the better of Max, because he didn’t hear people talking and crying when he was trying to sleep usually, so he crept out of bed and headed to the door. He peeked out the crack and looked into the bit of the living room that was visible down the hall from his door. He could see Alec and Magnus sitting on the couch, but his eyes widened when he saw that Magnus was _crying_ with his head resting on Alec’s chest while Alec tried to calm him. Max quickly did some magic to make his movements quiet and tiptoed out into the hall. He had never seen Magnus crying and it wasn’t something he liked. When he got closer, he stopped, pressing himself against the wall of the hallway to listen in.

“Magnus, shhhh, it’s okay. Max loves you, he was just mad at you and said something dumb,” Alec said, and Max’s stomach grew heavy at the thought that Magnus was crying cause of something _he_ had said. But he just couldn’t figure out what.

Magnus let out a sob and looked up at Alec. “No, Alec, he has said it before, I just didn’t- I didn’t think about it before. But he’s said for ages that I’m not his dad, and it’s true, isn’t it?” he asked, sniffling pitifully. “Max- Max only knows me as his dad’s boyfriend. That’s what I am to him. When he was a baby at least I was his teacher first, but I guess I just assumed he thought of us as his parents. Not just- just you,” he finished with a whimper. “I mean you are. I didn’t raise him as a baby. I didn’t even know him until he was a year old.” He shook his head. “He’s not my son.”

“He is your son,” Alex said firmly. “I only had him half a year before we met you, and he’s five years old. He doesn’t remember life before you. He probably doesn’t remember life before you and I got together. He might not even remember not living here,” Alec said, stroking Magnus’s hair. “ _We_ are his parents. He loves you just as much as he loves me.”

Magnus whimpered softly, shaking his head against Alec’s chest. “I always knew I would never be a dad. I don’t know why it hurts so much to be reminded that I’m not his.” 

Max watched his dad hugging Magnus while he cried for a minute, looking like he was going to cry himself, and Max turned and ran back to his room. He ran and crawled into his bed, trying not to start crying himself as he thought about how sad Magnus was and how it was all his fault he had made him sad. 

~

When Max woke up in the morning, he was confused to see his dad in the kitchen making him breakfast, not Magnus. “Dad? Where’s Magnus?” he asked, looking around like Magnus was gonna suddenly appear.

Alec sighed, which Max knew was never good, and turned around. “Magnus just doesn’t feel really good this morning, Max. But it’s okay, I’ll stay home with you today, too. Maybe later we can go to the Institute and visit Granddad again.”

“Is Magnus sick?” Max asked, frowning. “We should make him soup if he’s sick.”

Alec didn’t answer him at first, so Max got worried. He started wondering if maybe him being bad yesterday made Magnus sick. “Magnus just doesn’t feel great. He’ll be okay without any soup,” Alec said, and Max turned and walked away. “Max? Where’re you going?” Alec asked, but Max kept walking, looking around until he spotted Chairman Meow on the window. He rushed over and grabbed him, ignoring the unhappy meow he got, and Alec raised an eyebrow. “Max, what are you doing with Chairman Meow?”

Max rolled his eyes, squirmy cat held tightly in his arms as he headed for the hall. “Taking him to Magnus, duh,” he said, not waiting for his dad to reply as he rushed down the hall. He opened the door to their bedroom and crossed the room on tiptoes in case Magnus was asleep. He could hear his dad coming down the hall, so he crept over and tossed Chairman Meow on the bed before clambering up after him.

“What the f- crap?” Magnus grumbled, pulling the covers off his head to drag the angry cat off of his back and stop him digging in with his claws. Max flopped down beside him and Magnus blinked. “Max, why did you throw the Chairman at me?” he asked, seeming very confused.

Max grabbed the cat before he could escape and stuck him under the covers beside Magnus, holding him down as he covered him up and tucked him in. Eventually Chairman Meow gave up squirming and just glared at Max before snuggling into Magnus’s ribs. “Cause Dad said you don’t feel good. Chairman Meow will make you feel better,” he said with a smile. “Cuddling him always makes me feel better anyways,” he said, leaning over to pet the cat, yanking his hand back when he tried to bite him.

Magnus tutted, tapping Chairman Meow on the chin to make him look at him. “We do not bite anybody, you.” He smiled tiredly and Max could see himself that Magnus looked sad. “Thank you, Blueberry,” he said, and Max shuffled closer, wrapping his arms around Magnus’s neck. He pressed a kiss to Magnus’s cheek and Magnus gave him a small smile when he pulled way. “And what was that for?” he asked, reaching out to ruffle Max’s hair.

Max remembered how sad Magnus was cause he was bad, and he didn’t want him to feel bad anymore, so he laid his head on Magnus’s shoulder, patting at his side. “I love you,” Max said simply. He felt Magnus tense some, but Magnus just twisted around, tugging Max into a big hug, trapping Chairman Meow somewhere near their elbows.

“I love you so much, Max,” he whispered, and Max tucked himself under Magnus’s neck, hugging him tight to try and make up for making him sad. He wasn’t looking, but he wasn’t that surprised to hear Magnus say, “C’mon, Alexander, you, too,” before Alec crawled onto the other side of the bed and pulled them both into his arms, making Max giggle at how Alec didn’t even have to pick a side in their cuddle pile, he was big enough to cuddle both of them.

~

Max was so happy his plan with Chairman Meow had worked and Magnus was feeling better that he ran through the halls of the Institute laughing while Magnus chased him. Alec had brought them so Max could visit his granddad, but on their way to find him, Max had yelled ‘tag!’ and hit Magnus in the leg and run. Magnus was laughing as he chased him, though so Max knew he was allowed to play chase. 

“I’m gonna get you, you little bugger,” Magnus called as he chased after him and Max giggled, running faster. When he ran around the corner, he heard Magnus shout, “Max, look out!” but it was too late, because he ran straight into somebody’s legs, bouncing off and landing on his butt. 

Max frowned, looking down at the floor that had hurt his butt. “Ow, my butt,” he said, just before he was pulled to his feet. Magnus knelt down and looked at him carefully.

“Maxi, are you okay? Did you get hurt?” he asked, checking him over, but Max just rubbed his butt.

“I hurt my butt,” he said, wiggling to make sure nothing was broken. Magnus snorted, putting his fingers over his mouth and Max pouted. “It’s not funny! What if I broke my butt!” he said, shaking his butt again to make sure it was okay.

“Pretty sure you didn’t break your butt,” Magnus said, pulling him into a hug anyways. “Just look where you’re going, Sweetheart.” 

“Yes, and don’t run around in an Institute.” Max looked up in surprise. He had forgotten about the person he ran into, but when he saw it was his grandmother, he stepped closer to Magnus, grasping his pants leg carefully.

Magnus put a hand on his back. “Sorry, Maryse. He’s just energetic today.” Max didn’t like her very much and Magnus knew it. Max didn’t know why his grandmother wasn’t nice to Max and Magnus, because his granddad was, but Max was always scared she would yell at him. She seemed to yell at everybody else. She yelled at Isabelle and Jace all the time, and sometimes even at Alec. Max didn’t like it when people yelled at all.

“Mom.” Max was relieved to see his dad walking out of the room she had been in. “What’s wrong?” he asked, looking down at how Max was subtly edging behind Magnus’s leg. 

Magnus patted Max’s head, tapping a finger on each of Max’s budding horns. “Nothing’s wrong. Max was just running and ran into your mother. He’s alright, though. He landed on his butt, not his head,” he teased, making Max huff. Nobody took it serious that he could have a broken butt, he guessed. 

Maryse hummed. “As you can see, this warlock is letting your son run around rambunctiously.”

Max felt Magnus tense, his hand curling around his shoulder as if he was hanging onto Max rather than just resting his hand on him. “He’s a little boy, children are rambunctious. This place is made of stone, he won’t break the walls,” Magnus defended.

“I guess you’re an expert in Institutes, which is surprising since you aren’t a Shadowhunter,” Maryse said coldly. “Just as surprising as your apparent expertise in children even though as a warlock, you can never be a parent.”

Max felt Magnus’s fingers twitch and looked up just as his dad spoke up. “Mother. That’s enough,” Alec said in an angry voice that Max wasn’t used to hearing. Max saw how upset Magnus was and he hugged onto his leg, turning to look at his grandmother as she spoke again.

“It’s only true, warlocks aren’t meant to have children, so why would he know what to do with one?” she said, and Max was not happy.

“Hey! Leave my papa alone!” he shouted at her, hugging Magnus’s leg tight as he glared up at her. “You’re mean and that’s not nice. You shouldn’t be mean to Papa, cause he is nice and you’re not, and I don’t like you,” he said, absolutely angry at Maryse for making Magnus sad again after he’d been sad already that morning.

Max was surprised when Magnus pulled him away from his leg and dropped to his knees in front of him. Magnus looked at him with wide eyes, hands curling around both sides of his head, distracting him from whatever his dad said to make Maryse go away. “Max… what did you just call me?” Magnus asked, and Max smiled.

“Papa,” he said, and Alec knelt down beside him, smiling brightly. “Do you like it?” he asked Alec and then Magnus.

Alec squeezed his hand. “Why did you call him papa, Max?” he asked, and Max was confused, because Alec looked happy so he didn’t know why he was asking him about it.

“Cause you’re Dad, and he can’t be Dad, too. It would get confusing,” he said, only to turn and look at Magnus again when he let out a soft sob and tugged Max into a hug so fast he thought he was gonna fall over. “Was that bad?” he asked slowly, worriedly looking at his dad, but Magnus pulled away, shaking his head rapidly.

“No, Max, it’s wonderful. You can always call me ‘papa’,” he said, crying openly as he just looked at Max with a giant smile.

Max frowned. “Why are you crying if it’s good?” he asked, and Magnus snorted and Alec chuckled.

Magnus hugged him close, kissing his face. “I’m just really, really happy. I’m crying cause I’m happy.”

“Ew,” Max said, looking over at Alec. “Dad, Papa’s being weird,” he announced and Alec smiled brightly, reaching over to touch Max’s cheek affectionately.

“I know, he does that sometimes,” he said and Magnus pulled away, still crying, and swatted at Alec, laughing through his tears. 

“Shut up, I’m having a beautiful moment with our son, don’t pick on me,” he said, and Alec rolled his eyes but leaned over to kiss Magnus sweetly.

Max mimed gagging. “Ewwww, Dad, Papa, stop!” he complained, tugging away from them. “Now you’re being gross and weird!” He stepped away as they both looked at him and made a face. “I’m gonna go find Uncle Jace, he isn’t gross and weird like you are.”

When he got to the corner, he glanced back and saw his parents hugging and smiling at one another and, even though they were being weird and gross, he was happy to see them both smiling again. Max liked it when his family was happy.


End file.
